To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed the entire object, paste this HTML in websiteTo link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed this page, paste this HTML in website

January 17, 1986 • Vol. 17, No. 3 750 Outside of D.C./Baltimore Areas
THE GAY WEEKLY OF THE NATION'S CAPIT
Iff Al 11 Loa 11 II& lir mrdisak't Waft ir VAN'
I L 111. .11111
MA 'A IN PM I MI II EN It 404E1 %I WI INN 111./116111LIMIL
Stein endorses Maryland candidates seek Gay support
Mayor Barry;
celebrates 10th
by Lou Chibbaro Jr.
At a packed meeting in the District Build-ing's
City Council chamber, members of the
Gertrude Stein Democratic Club Monday
night hailed D.C. Mayor Marion Barry as
the nation's leading pro-Gay politician and
then endorsed his race for a third term by a
vote of 61 to 9.
Stein Club President Christine
Riddiough said the club took the somewhat
unusual step of endorsing Barry before he
formally announced his candidacy because
club members feel Barry has been an
"outstanding" supporter of Gay rights
during his tenure as mayor as well as during
his terms as an at-large City Council-member
and president of the D.C. School
Board. _
In addition to the endorsement, the club
voted to contribute $2,000 to Barry's
campaign as soon as he forrns.a campaign
committee. Barry aides said the mayor
probably will announce his candidacy
formally in March following thecelebmtion
of his 50th birthday.
At a reception honoring the club's 10th
anniversary, following the endorsement
meeting, 'Barry thanked club members for
supporting him and joked with reporters
that although he was not about to declare
his candidacy that evening, he liked his job
'tremendously."
Barry also noted the Stein Club was the
first political group to endorse his first bid
for the mayor's office in 1978, when he was-considered
an underdog in a three-way race.
"I recognize Some of the faces of those of
you who were involved in that campaign,"
said Barry, who added he was "proud and
thrilled" that the Stein Club endorsedhim in
his last three campaigns, two for mayor and
one for at-laige city counalmember.
While it was clear the overwhelming
majority of the club's members favored
endorsing Barry, a few members expressed
opposition to an endorsement at a time
• when no other major candidatehas surfaced
to oppose Barry.
But Riddiough and a number of club
members .representing different constituen-cies
within the Gay community, including
Lesbians and black Gays, each said Barry's
Continued on page 9
What do Hudson and
Falwell have in common? 5
What do Rostropovich and
Kaineny have in common? 6
A scholarly Wier reflects
on his cult_ 15
As Midler flings mud, Grace
Jones looks back 17
• by Rick Harding
TAKOMA PARK, MD—A Monday
night meeting of the Montgomery County
Gay and Lesbian Democratic Club turned
into a candidates' forum with seven
candidates for county, state, and federal
offices showing up early in their races to
court the Gay vote.
Featured speaker for the meeting was
Deputy Attorney General Eleanor Carey,
now seeking the Democratic nomination
for state attorney general, who told the
nearly 30 Lesbians and Gays in attendance
that as attorney general, she "can make a
difference'
According to Carey, the duties of the
attorney general are to "make sure laws are
interpreted fairly" and "bring pressure" on
state agencies to conform to those
interpretations.
As an example, she explained how the
attorney general's office recently pushed for
the passage of a Baltimore City human
rights measure prohibiting discrimination
against Lesbians and Gays. Carey said that
some city officials who were "trying to find
Maryland Deputy Attorney Eleanor Carey and Montgomery County Gay and Lesbian
Democratic Club President Stuart Harvey.
every way possible to invalidate" the
measure argued that it would violate
Maryland state sodomy law. But Attorney
General Stephen Sachs issued an opinion
stating that there was a misinterpretation of
the sodomy law and that the measure would
be entirely legal.
Although the human rights measure
eventually failed to pass, Gay activists
praised the strong support from Carey and
the attorney general's office
During re meeting, Carey noted other
activities that she and the attorney general's
office have undertaken which were of
particular concern to Gays and Lesbians,
which included consultations with Johns
Hopkins University regarding confidential-ity
during AIDS studies and urging the state
funer board to issue a statement reqii-sting
that funeral homes not discriminate against
people who have died from AIDS.
In response to questions from the
audience, Carey said the attorney general
could not actively lobby for sodomy law
repeal or a state Gay rights bRI. But
Democratic Club President Stuart Harvey
pointed out after the meeting that the "top
legal officer in Maryland has enormous
impact on public opinion."
"It is absolutely vital that the Gay
community help elect the candidate for
attorney general who is responsive and open
to the Gay community," Harvey said,
adding that members of the Gay
Democratic group plan to campaign
actively for Carey and to help her raise
funds for the race.
Carey has had a history of good relations
Continued on page 6
Til catastrophe do us part...
A Minnesota woman fights for her injured lover's best interests
by Shelley Anderson
ST. CLOUD, MN—"Sometimes I
feel hopeless," Karen Thompson says.
She pauses, as she will several times
during the interview, to keep from
crying. "It's too late for Sharon, but I'll
-continue to fight to bring her home. It's a
question of what is in the best interest of
Sharon?'
Thompson repeatedly brings the
question back to what is best for Sharon.
It's a question she ha sbeen asking since a
November 13, 1983 automobile
accident caused by a drtmk driver left her
lover, Sharon Kowalski, a quadriplegic
and severely brain damaged. It's a
question that has led to a bitter legal
battle between Thompson and Sharon's
parents, Donald and Della Kowalski,
over Sharon's rehabilitation. Karen's
legal fight has implications for all Gay
people, and has been supported by the
Minnesota Civil Liberties Union
(MCLU) and Minnesota Gay and
Lesbian Legal Assistance (MnGALIA).
And the Minnesota Court of Appeals is
set to settle the dispute this Wednesday.
"This will be a gain for everybody" if
the case is won, says Thompson. She
refers to letters she has received from
Lesbians and Gays across the country,
people who have lost partners through
Illness or accident and have been denied
the right to have a say in their treatment
or, in many cases, even to see their
partner in the hospital.
'Word has got to get out about how
often this happens," says Thompson.
"One woman lost the house she and her
lover had bought to the family. She
wrote she wished she'd done something.
keep thinking if any of these others had
fonght, I wouldn't have to. But if I don't,
who will?"
Thompson, 38, and Sharon Kowalski,
29, had been lovers for four years-before
the accident, living quietly in a home
they bought together near St. Cloud,
Minnesota, where Thompson is a
physical education teacher and coach at
the state university. The case has forced
Thompson to come out on the job and to
her family for the first time.
"Let me tell you, it's hard to come out
in public before you're barely out to
yourself," she says. But coming out to
families and loved ones is exactly what
Thompson counsels others to do now.
"Draw up legal papers. Choose your
guardian and power of attorney, express
your wishes ahead of time," says
Thompson. "Anyone of us could
become disabled."
Sharon Kowalski was hospitalized in
St. Cloud for eight months after the
accident. Thompson visited her daily,
teaching her how to communicate by
using an electric typewriter, and how to
feed herself and brush her teeth. Despite
having spent the first four months in a
coma, Kowalski had begun speaking in
Continued on page 9

January 17, 1986 • Vol. 17, No. 3 750 Outside of D.C./Baltimore Areas
THE GAY WEEKLY OF THE NATION'S CAPIT
Iff Al 11 Loa 11 II& lir mrdisak't Waft ir VAN'
I L 111. .11111
MA 'A IN PM I MI II EN It 404E1 %I WI INN 111./116111LIMIL
Stein endorses Maryland candidates seek Gay support
Mayor Barry;
celebrates 10th
by Lou Chibbaro Jr.
At a packed meeting in the District Build-ing's
City Council chamber, members of the
Gertrude Stein Democratic Club Monday
night hailed D.C. Mayor Marion Barry as
the nation's leading pro-Gay politician and
then endorsed his race for a third term by a
vote of 61 to 9.
Stein Club President Christine
Riddiough said the club took the somewhat
unusual step of endorsing Barry before he
formally announced his candidacy because
club members feel Barry has been an
"outstanding" supporter of Gay rights
during his tenure as mayor as well as during
his terms as an at-large City Council-member
and president of the D.C. School
Board. _
In addition to the endorsement, the club
voted to contribute $2,000 to Barry's
campaign as soon as he forrns.a campaign
committee. Barry aides said the mayor
probably will announce his candidacy
formally in March following thecelebmtion
of his 50th birthday.
At a reception honoring the club's 10th
anniversary, following the endorsement
meeting, 'Barry thanked club members for
supporting him and joked with reporters
that although he was not about to declare
his candidacy that evening, he liked his job
'tremendously."
Barry also noted the Stein Club was the
first political group to endorse his first bid
for the mayor's office in 1978, when he was-considered
an underdog in a three-way race.
"I recognize Some of the faces of those of
you who were involved in that campaign,"
said Barry, who added he was "proud and
thrilled" that the Stein Club endorsedhim in
his last three campaigns, two for mayor and
one for at-laige city counalmember.
While it was clear the overwhelming
majority of the club's members favored
endorsing Barry, a few members expressed
opposition to an endorsement at a time
• when no other major candidatehas surfaced
to oppose Barry.
But Riddiough and a number of club
members .representing different constituen-cies
within the Gay community, including
Lesbians and black Gays, each said Barry's
Continued on page 9
What do Hudson and
Falwell have in common? 5
What do Rostropovich and
Kaineny have in common? 6
A scholarly Wier reflects
on his cult_ 15
As Midler flings mud, Grace
Jones looks back 17
• by Rick Harding
TAKOMA PARK, MD—A Monday
night meeting of the Montgomery County
Gay and Lesbian Democratic Club turned
into a candidates' forum with seven
candidates for county, state, and federal
offices showing up early in their races to
court the Gay vote.
Featured speaker for the meeting was
Deputy Attorney General Eleanor Carey,
now seeking the Democratic nomination
for state attorney general, who told the
nearly 30 Lesbians and Gays in attendance
that as attorney general, she "can make a
difference'
According to Carey, the duties of the
attorney general are to "make sure laws are
interpreted fairly" and "bring pressure" on
state agencies to conform to those
interpretations.
As an example, she explained how the
attorney general's office recently pushed for
the passage of a Baltimore City human
rights measure prohibiting discrimination
against Lesbians and Gays. Carey said that
some city officials who were "trying to find
Maryland Deputy Attorney Eleanor Carey and Montgomery County Gay and Lesbian
Democratic Club President Stuart Harvey.
every way possible to invalidate" the
measure argued that it would violate
Maryland state sodomy law. But Attorney
General Stephen Sachs issued an opinion
stating that there was a misinterpretation of
the sodomy law and that the measure would
be entirely legal.
Although the human rights measure
eventually failed to pass, Gay activists
praised the strong support from Carey and
the attorney general's office
During re meeting, Carey noted other
activities that she and the attorney general's
office have undertaken which were of
particular concern to Gays and Lesbians,
which included consultations with Johns
Hopkins University regarding confidential-ity
during AIDS studies and urging the state
funer board to issue a statement reqii-sting
that funeral homes not discriminate against
people who have died from AIDS.
In response to questions from the
audience, Carey said the attorney general
could not actively lobby for sodomy law
repeal or a state Gay rights bRI. But
Democratic Club President Stuart Harvey
pointed out after the meeting that the "top
legal officer in Maryland has enormous
impact on public opinion."
"It is absolutely vital that the Gay
community help elect the candidate for
attorney general who is responsive and open
to the Gay community," Harvey said,
adding that members of the Gay
Democratic group plan to campaign
actively for Carey and to help her raise
funds for the race.
Carey has had a history of good relations
Continued on page 6
Til catastrophe do us part...
A Minnesota woman fights for her injured lover's best interests
by Shelley Anderson
ST. CLOUD, MN—"Sometimes I
feel hopeless," Karen Thompson says.
She pauses, as she will several times
during the interview, to keep from
crying. "It's too late for Sharon, but I'll
-continue to fight to bring her home. It's a
question of what is in the best interest of
Sharon?'
Thompson repeatedly brings the
question back to what is best for Sharon.
It's a question she ha sbeen asking since a
November 13, 1983 automobile
accident caused by a drtmk driver left her
lover, Sharon Kowalski, a quadriplegic
and severely brain damaged. It's a
question that has led to a bitter legal
battle between Thompson and Sharon's
parents, Donald and Della Kowalski,
over Sharon's rehabilitation. Karen's
legal fight has implications for all Gay
people, and has been supported by the
Minnesota Civil Liberties Union
(MCLU) and Minnesota Gay and
Lesbian Legal Assistance (MnGALIA).
And the Minnesota Court of Appeals is
set to settle the dispute this Wednesday.
"This will be a gain for everybody" if
the case is won, says Thompson. She
refers to letters she has received from
Lesbians and Gays across the country,
people who have lost partners through
Illness or accident and have been denied
the right to have a say in their treatment
or, in many cases, even to see their
partner in the hospital.
'Word has got to get out about how
often this happens," says Thompson.
"One woman lost the house she and her
lover had bought to the family. She
wrote she wished she'd done something.
keep thinking if any of these others had
fonght, I wouldn't have to. But if I don't,
who will?"
Thompson, 38, and Sharon Kowalski,
29, had been lovers for four years-before
the accident, living quietly in a home
they bought together near St. Cloud,
Minnesota, where Thompson is a
physical education teacher and coach at
the state university. The case has forced
Thompson to come out on the job and to
her family for the first time.
"Let me tell you, it's hard to come out
in public before you're barely out to
yourself," she says. But coming out to
families and loved ones is exactly what
Thompson counsels others to do now.
"Draw up legal papers. Choose your
guardian and power of attorney, express
your wishes ahead of time," says
Thompson. "Anyone of us could
become disabled."
Sharon Kowalski was hospitalized in
St. Cloud for eight months after the
accident. Thompson visited her daily,
teaching her how to communicate by
using an electric typewriter, and how to
feed herself and brush her teeth. Despite
having spent the first four months in a
coma, Kowalski had begun speaking in
Continued on page 9